Maine Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

• Protection window: 180 days
• Governing authority: 14 M.R.S. § 6001(3)

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in Maine — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

14 M.R.S. § 6001(3) — 报复驱逐推定：租客行使权利/投诉住房违规后 6 个月内，房东的 forcible entry and detainer 推定报复。

受保护行为 7 类（6001(3) A-G）：主张 6015/6016/6021/6030-D/I/J 权利、投诉住房法规违规、书面要求维修、fair housing 投诉、家暴受害者通知、举报性骚扰。

14 M.R.S. § 6001(3) ↗

The protection window

For 180 days after a protected act, certain landlord actions are presumed retaliatory.

6001(3)：租客行使权利/投诉后 **6 个月（约 180 天）**内发起驱逐 → 可反驳推定报复，writ of possession 不得在推定未被反驳前签发。

14 M.R.S. § 6001(3) ↗

Protected activities

What a landlord may not do

Burden of proof

6 个月内驱逐 → 可反驳推定报复，举证责任转房东证明合法非报复理由；欠租/实质损害/违反 lease 驱逐无推定（除非租客依 6026 主张）。

14 M.R.S. § 6001(3) ↗

Remedies

Exemptions and limits

因欠租/实质损害/违反 lease 条款的驱逐**无**报复推定（6001(3) 末句）；除非租客依 6026 主张权利。

14 M.R.S. § 6001(3) ↗

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

Statute	Last verified	Source
14 M.R.S. § 6001(3)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
14 M.R.S. § 6001(3)(A)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
14 M.R.S. § 6001(3)(B)-(C)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
14 M.R.S. § 6001(3)(E)-(G)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
14 M.R.S. § 6001(3)-(4)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
14 M.R.S. § 6001(3), 6014	2026-10-16	official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

When you need a lawyer instead of a tool

A self-help guide is the right starting point for understanding your position. Get legal help if:

• You have received an eviction notice — the timeline is now court-driven
• The dispute involves discrimination, unsafe conditions or retaliation
• Your landlord has filed anything in court already
• You are unsure whether a local ordinance changes the state rule

Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.

More Maine guides

Maine Security Deposit Return · Maine Security Deposit Rules · Maine Eviction Process · Maine Rent Increase Rules · Maine Repairs & Habitability

→ All Maine tenant rights topics

Common questions